Vented nipple construction



Nov. 2, 1954 E.-v. PERREAULT VENTED NIPPLE CONSTRUCTION Filed April 25, 1952 FlG.l

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY VENTED NIPPLE CONSTRUCTION Emile V. Perreault, East Providence, R. L, assignor to Davol Rubber Company, a corporation of Rhode Island Application April 25, 1952, Serial No. 284,253

3 Claims. (Cl. 128-252) The present invention relates to infant feeding, and has particular reference to a novel construction for a feeding nipple.

The principal object of the invention is to providean improved nipple for use with a small mouth nursing bottle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nipple for a small mouth nursing bottle which has a continuously open air vent.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mpple air vent which does not leak when the nipple is in use.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, the invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and more specifically defined in the claims appended thereto.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an elevation view showing a preferred embodiment of the invention as mounted on a small mouth nursing bottle.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l with the nipple in vertical section;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, the nipple being separated from the bottle;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Flg. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the nipple, partly m section, on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a partial section on the line 66 of Fig. 5.

It has been found desirable to provide a mpple for a small mouth nursing botle, which has a continuously open air vent, the air vent being tortuous so that it Will not leak nursing fluid under normal conditions of use. To this end, I have devised a nipple with a novel zigzag inner head which provides a restricted open vent when the nipple is mounted on the rim of a nursing bottle, the zig- '1 zag permititng inflow of air while restricting outflow of nursing fluid.

Referring to the drawings, the nipple 10 18 of flexible material such as rubber for mounting on a small mouth standard type nursing bottle 11 as illustrated in Fig. l,

the bottle having a reduced neck 12 and a rim 13, see Fig. 2. The nipple 10 includes a lower hollow generally cylindrical base 14 having an annular lower flange 15 with a bevelled lower surface 16, an upstanding neck 17 of less width than the base and having a vertical inner cylindrical surface 18 and an outer surface 19 flarlng at its lower portion to merge with the outer surface of the base, whereby a thickened annulus 20 of generally triangular cross-section is provided at the juncture of the neck and the base. The neck has a spherical type tip 21 at its upper end which is provided with one or more feeding passages 22, and the annulus 20 provides an elastic resistance to the lips of an infant which prevents collapsing of the nipple when in use and also exercises the gums during feeding. The neck depends downwardly below the annulus 20 to provide a circular tongue 23,

United States Patent lice whereby an annular recess 24 is formed by the tongue I 23, the lower surface 25 of the annulus 20, the inner surface 26 of the base 14, and the upper surface 27 of the flange 15, the recess 24 receiving the rim 13 of the bottle when the flange 15 is snapped over the rim, with the tongue 23 extending into the bottle opening. The snap insertion of the bottle rim into the recess and its removal therefrom is facilitated by a finger graspable tab 28 which extends outwardly from the lower portion of the base 14,

Patented Nov. 2, 1954;

and which may be provided with a depression 29 on its upper surface for better manual grasping.

Referring now to Figs. 5 and 6, the lower inner portion of the nipple is provided with a zigzag head 30 of shallow depth and with a relatively extended flat surface width, the bead having a section 32 extending from the tongue 23 across the lower surface of the thickened annulus and vertically downwardly on the inner wall of the base, a section 33 extending laterally on the inner wall of the base, a lower section 34 extending vertically downwardly on the inner surface 26 of the base, a section 35 extending radially on the upper surface 27, a section 36 extending downwardly on the inner surface 31, and a section 37 extending radially out-wardly in the bevelled lower surface 16 of the flange 15.

When the nipple is mounted on the nursing bottle as illustrated in l ig. 2, the bead 30 contacts the neck and rim of the bottle under tension, but the sides 32, 33 of the bead remain spaced above the inner wall of the base to provide tortuous air flow passages which, however, restrict outward flow of nursing fluid suificiently due to the sharp turns to prevent leaking.

Although i have disclosed a specific construction of a nipple embodying the invention, it is obvious that changes in the size, shape, and arrangement of the parts may be made to meet different nursing requirements, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A nursing nipple having a generally cylindrical hollow base, an upstanding reduced neck terminating in a feeding tip having a passageway therethrough, the outer surface of the neck flaring at its lower portion to merge with the outer surface of the base, and the inner surface of the neck being vertical to provide a thickened annulus at the juncture of the base and neck, the wall of said neck extending downwardly to form a circular depending tongue, said base having a lower annular interior flange having a bevelled lower surface, whereby a recess for receiving a bottle rim is provided between the lower flange, the base wall, the thickened annulus and the depending tongue, and a zigzag head of shallow depth and relatively extended width extending from the depending tongue over the recess wall, the inner surface of the flange, and the bevelled lower surface of the flange, the portion of the bead on the inner wall of the base having an upper vertical, a lateral, and a lower vertical section.

2. A nursing nipple having a generally cylindrical hollow base, an upstanding reduced neck terminating in a feeding tip having a passageway therethrough, the outer surface of the neck flaring at its lower portion to merge with the outer surface of the base, and the inner surface of the neck being vertical to provide a thickened annulus at the juncture of the base and neck, the wall of said neck extending downwardly to form a circular depending tongue, said base having a lower annular interior flange, whereby a recess for receiving a bottle rim is provided between the lower flange, the base wall, the thickened annulus and the depending tongue, and a zigzag bead of shallow depth and relatively extended width across the lower surface of the thickened annulus, then vertically downwardly, horizontally, and again vertically downwardly on the inner wall of the base, then radially on the upper surface of the flange and vertically downwardly on the inner surface of the flange.

3. A nursing nipple having a generally cylindrical hollow base, an upstanding reduced neck terminating in a feeding tip having a passageway therethrough, the outer surface of the neck flaring at its lower portion to merge with the outer surface of the base, and the inner surface of the neck being vertical to provide a thickened annulus at the juncture of the base and neck, the wall of said neck extending downwardly to form a circular depending tongue, said base having a lower annular interior flange having a bevelled lower surface, whereby a recess for receiving a bottle rim is provided between the lower flange, the base wall,,the thickened annulus and the depending tongue, and a zigzag bead of shallow depth and relatively extended width extending across the lower surface of the thickened annulus, then vertically downwardly,

4 References Cited in the .file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 5 2,238,828 Schmid Apr. 15, 1941 2,520,157 Little Aug. 29, 1950 

